Coiled resilient ball

ABSTRACT

A sporting game comprising a ball which can be hit between game players positioned on a fixed court. The ball consists of two coiled strips of a lightweight material, each of said strips defining a plurality of coils and each of said coils of a first one of said strips being perpendicular to the planes defined by the coils of a second one of said strips, at least one of the coils of said first strip being positioned between adjacent ones of said coils in said second strip, at least one of the coils of said second strip being positioned between adjacent ones of said coils in said first strip, said first and second strips being secured together at right angles to each other at a predetermined area. The players, in a preferred embodiment, attempt to hit the ball over a net by means of special disc-like paddles.

United States Patent [191 Burgos COILED RESILIENT BALL 211 Appl. No.:284,618

[52] US. Cl. 273/58 D, 273/67 R, 273/95 H [51] Int. Cl A63b 71/02 [58]Field of Search..... 273/58 R, 58 C, 58 D, 95 H [56] References CitedUNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1871 Spencer 273/58 D 10/1962 Kamp 273/95 HPrimary ExaminerRichard C. Pinkham Assistant Examiner-Marvin SiskindAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Fleit, Gipple & Jackson June 18, 1974 [57]ABSTRACT A sporting game comprising a ball which can be hit between gameplayers positioned on a fixed court. The ball consists of two coiledstrips of a lightweight material, each of said strips defining aplurality of coils and each of said coils of a first one of said stripsbeing perpendicular to the planes defined by the coils of a second oneof said strips, at least one of the coils of said first strip beingpositioned between adjacent ones of said coils in said second strip, atleast one of the coils of said second strip being positioned betweenadjacent ones of said coils in said first strip, said first and secondstrips being secured together at right angles to each other at apredetermined area. The players, in a preferred embodiment, attempt tohit the ball over a net by means of special disc-like paddles.

1 Claim, 5 Drawing Figures 1 COILED RESILIENT BALL BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION The present invention concerns a sporting game played with aball that is hit between two players, who move about a fixed court andare, in addition, separated by a net between them. In sports of thistype, as well as in other sporting games, the players invariably use agreater effort with either the right or left side of the body, resultingin the fact that one side develops more fully than the other, to thedetriment of a balanced physical development. Thus, in any sport, liketennis, golf, basketball or table tennis, people who predominantly usetheir right limb exercise and develop this limb more extensively thantheir opposite. The same thing happens with people who predominantly usetheir left limb. The even greater disadvantage today is the conflictbetween ones desire to retain physical fitness, and the lack of sparetime to devote to that goal.

The aim of the present invention is to provide a sporting game which canbe played in an extremely small space, a room or any like area beingsuitable; a game requiring little movement, and which, in addition, isinexpensive.

A second characteristic of this newly-invented sporting game is that itcan be played by a single player, or by two players, one against theother. A further characteristic of the game is that it forces the playeror players to exert a great physical effort, greater on the weaker sideof the body, since it is the side which his opponent will undoubtedlyexploit more fully, thus achieving a balanced physical development.

The game provides complete exercise, for the hands, arms, feet, legs andbody, since the movements which must be used to return the ball providestimulus to all regions, thus offering scientific advantages over othersporting games played at present.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the invention, the ball withwhich the sporting game is played, said ball comprising two coiledstrips of a lightweight material, each of said strips defining aplurality of coils and each of said coils defining an imaginary plane,the planes defined by the coils of a first one of said strips beingperpendicular to the planes defined'by the coils of a second one of saidstrips, at least one of the coils of said first strip being positionedbetween adjacent ones of said coils in said second strip, at least oneof the coils of said second strip being positioned between adjacent onesof said coils in said first strip, said first and second strips beingsecured together at right angles to each other at a predetermined area.

In this way a ball is obtained which requires a great effort to hit amaximum distance of about three meters.

The propulsion of the ball is achieved by using discs, two to eachplayer, the discs with a diameter approximately equal to 8 percent ofthe height of the user, each disc being held with one hand and causingthe player to exert a constant physical effort with the hands and arms.The thickness of the discs can be approximately percent of saiddiameter.

A net is arranged between the players, the top of which is set at theeye level of the taller player, to prevent him from having an advantageover the shorter player.

The courts are proportional to the height of each player, their length,parallel to the net, being equal to the height reached by each playerwith his right thumb when his right arm is stretched upwards, while thewidth at right angles to the net is half this length. In this wayneither player has an advantage over the other, and at the same time,the dimensions of the court insure that the effort required by eithercontestant is equivalent to the ratio between the area of the court andthe height of that player. Each court may be about 12 inches from thenet. In addition, to insure effort from the whole body, once the game isstarted, neither player is permitted to move his feet from the point atwhich he began. In this way, the legs and feet are forced to work.

This sporting game can be played in the following way: after decidingwhich of the two players is to play the ball first, that player takesthe two discs in his left hand, one on top of the other, with theirsmaller faces touching, and throws the ball into the air with his righthand and hits it with the discs he is holding in his left hand,propelling it towards his opponents side. He then inunediately takes oneof the discs from his left hand into his right hand, so that he now hasone disc in each hand. The other player, who holds one disc in each handfrom the start, returns the ball to the opposite side by hitting it withwhichever disc is more convenient. Play continues in this way until oneof the players fails to return the ball to his opponents court, in whichcase the latter will have won a point.

Play continues thus, until a predetermined score is reached, servicethen passing to the other player.

For a person to play this game alone, the net is set up as if twoplayers were playing with a normal but light ball being suspended bymeans of a thread from one of the vertical posts supporting the net. Theplayer positions himself in the same vertical plane as the net, butabout 12 inches outside the court, with his head facing the net.

With his right hand he throws the ball hard, so that it goes over thenet and then, when it comes near him, he hits it with the discs he isholding in his left hand so that the ball recrosses the net. He thentakes one of the discs in his right hand, and with it hits the ball whenit approaches him on the right. After this he hits it with the disc inhis left hand, when the ball reaches him on his left, and he continuesto play in this way until the ball hits the net and he cannot go onplaying.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A description of this newly inventedsporting game is given below, with attached drawing, to easecomprehension.

FIG. 1 is a view, in perspective, of the net and playing courts.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the two discs, one on top of the other.

FIG. 3 is a plan of the strips from which the ball is obtained.

FIG. 4 is a head-on view of the ball.

FIG. 5 is a section along the line V-V in FIG. 4.

As can be seen from the drawings, the net I is erected in the playingcourt on two vertical posts 2. About 12 inches away the courts 3 and 4are marked out; this can be done with tape. Each of the courts is equalin length to the height reached by the player with the thumb of hisright hand, with his arm stretched upwards, while the width is half thislength. The net 1 is placed so that the top is approximately at the eyelevel of the taller player. The players may position themselves in thecourts, thusly marked, wherever they like, but with the condition thattheir feet may not move once the game has begun.

The ball is made up from the two strips 5, FIG. 3, arranged at rightangles to each other, which can comprise only one piece. The two stripsare wound alternately around themselves toward the point 6, so that theturns, or winds, are slightly separated from each other, as shown inFIGS. 4 and 5. For example, from each strip 5 two turns 7 can beobtained, all of which are traveling and joined together at the point 6,for example by stitching 8, while around the vest of the ring theyremain apart, the maximum separations being obtained at a pointdiametrically opposite the joint.

The strips 5 are of a light material, such as bobbinet. A ball is thusobtained which requires a great effort to hit a maximum of three meters.The ball is hit by discs 9 as shown in FIG. 2.

These discs 9 have a diameter approximately equal to 8 percent of theheight of each player. The total area required in which to play the gameis approximately square feet, which enables it to be played in a room,in commercially leased courts, or in the open air, provided there is nowind, etc.

What is claimed is:

1. A ball for use in a sporting game in which the ball is propelled overa net by being struck with a disc, said ball comprising two coiledstrips of a lightweight shaperetaining material, each of said stripsdefining a plurality of substantially circular coils and each of saidcoils defining an imaginary plane, the planes defined by the coils of afirst one of said strips being perpendicular to the planes defined bythe coils of a second one of said strips, at least one of the coils ofsaid first strip being positioned between adjacent ones of said coils insaid second strip, at least one of the coils of said second strip beingpositioned between adjacent ones of said coils in said first strip, saidfirst and second strips being secured together at right angles to eachother at a predetermined area.

1. A ball for use in a sporting game in which the ball is propelled overa net by being struck with a disc, said ball comprising two coiledstrips of a lightweight shape-retaining material, each of said stripsdefining a plurality of substantially circular coils and each of saidcoils defining an imaginary plane, the planes defined by the coils of afirst one of said strips being perpendicular to the planes defined bythe coils of a second one of said strips, at least one of the coils ofsaid first strip being positioned between adjacent ones of said coils insaid second strip, at least one of the coils of said second strip beingpositioned between adjacent ones of said coils in said first strip, saidfirst and second strips being secured together at right angles to eachother at a predetermined area.